The €150,000 ERC Proof of Concepts grant facilitate the initial steps from basic research results to a potential application, i.e. to develop a proof-of-concept. Only proposals that built on results stemming from previous ERC-funded projects are eligible for a PoC grant.  With the PoC grants, the ERC enables researchers to explore the opportunities their initial results offer, for example through further validation studies or an assessment of intellectual property potential. A total of 100 proposals were honoured with a PoC grant, including these four that were submitted by KNCV-members:   

Kim Bonger, Leiden University 

THRON-SEC: Drug-induced secretome profiling for enhanced therapy 

 

Tom de Greef, Eindhoven University of Technology 

DNACryp: DNA encryption of compartmentalized DNA files 

 

Nathaniel Martin, Leiden University  

PREVAIL: PReclinical EVAluation and Investigation of Laterocidamide - A novel antibiotic from a new drug class to overcome polymyxin resistance 

 

Sander van Kasteren (also NVBMB-member), Leiden University 

TIGER: Targeted immunocytokines by caging and local release 

 

Other chemistry and life sciences-related laureates based at an institution in Belgium or The Netherlands (in alphabetical order)  

Rob Ameloot, KU Leuven 

MOFKADD: Metal-organic-framework kinetic array for diabetes detection 

Ruben van Boxtel, Princess Maxima Centre for Pediatric Oncologie 

MUTAPREDICT: Benchmarking AI to predict mutagenicity by combining chemical structure and genome-wide mutation data 

Susana Chuva de Sousa Lopes, Leiden University Medical Center 

ReproTox: Developing a human-based stem cell model for reproductive toxicity 

David Fernandez Rivas, University of Twente

Lab-in-skin: Overcoming limits for preclinical small volume liquid delivery into skin and inflammation quantification 

Sabine Fuchs, University Medical Center Utrecht 

IMPACT: IMPlementation of Affordable gene Correction Therapies 

Jop Kind, Hubrecht Institute (KNAW) 

OncoID: Deep multiplexed epigenetic profiling of plasma cell-free nucleosomes for early cancer diagnostics 

Bart Lambrecht, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology 

CRYSTAL-SHINE: A nanobody imaging tool to detect protein crystals and predict therapeutic response in asthmatics 

Jeroen Leijten, University of Twente 

NutriBone: Self-feeding implants to improve and accelerate tissue healing using nutritional nanoparticles 

Isabelle Meyts, KU Leuven 

MODULATEDADA2: Towards modulator therapy for ADA2 deficiency  

Robert de Vries, Utrecht University

Arrayed surveillance: Glycoprotein arrays for functional virus surveillance 

 

Overview of awarded Proof of Concept grants 2024 on the ERC website